Chandor is a village in South Goa district, Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, on the banks of the river Kushavati, 10 km east from Margao

Margao

Margao and commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It is the administrative headquarters of South Goa district and of the Salcete taluka.- Etymology :...

.

History

This is the Village which was once the location of the capital of Chandrapur rulers which also boasts of a fort and a temple within its citadel. It is located 10 kms from the inland of Margao and has both the ancient and modern aspects to its history. The ancient Chandor was once a port of international repute and a great capital where trade and commerce flourished. Its geographical location is just perfect with the loop of the Kushavati river with another tributary of the Zuari to the west.

Chandrapur is a vital part of Goa’s historic past with sparse remnants of ancient inscriptions and a site of extensive excavation. Goa was treated as a chess pawn in the constant moves by the great rulers and dynasties of South India. It was the most important capital of the famous Mauryan emperor Chandragupta, who was a powerful king in India and spread his reign all over the subcontinent including Goa after the defeat of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.

Chandrapur also boasts of ancient inscriptions of Bhoja kings dating back to the 3rd or 4th Century A.D. The earliest piece of evidence being the Siroda plate found in Shiroda on the banks of a river. It also has a Shiva temple with old remnants of the fortress walls and form one of the oldest structural remains in Goa. Chandrapur’s origins are not exact, which has been justified by the fact that there has been found pottery of the Satyavahanas which leads one to think that their dynasty was much older than the Bhoja kings, ruling far back as 200 BC.

Father Heras on his discovery of Chandrapur in 1929, found a very old and shattered image of Nandi, Shiva’s Bull, believed to be affected adversely by the 13th Century Muslim raids on various temples of Goa. It dates back to the 7th century when Chandraditya was proclaimed as the ruler of the Konkan along with Chandrapur by his father, Pulakesin II, the great Chalukyan emperor. The status grew manifold with the establishment of trade and sea links mainly by the Arab traders who vastly inhabited the Arabian sea, the Persian Gulf, African east coast and the stretch of the western coast of India to Ceylon and thus, Chandrapur played an important role in boosting trading activities.

Geography

Chandor is located at 15.16°N 74.2°E. It has an average elevation of 2 metres (7 feet).

Bragança house

The Bragança House was built in the 17th century. This huge house is situated on one side of the village square. It has now been divided into two separate houses, with a common entrance.

The east wing, occupied by the Pereira Bragança family, has a small chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 with a relic of St. Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...

, which is a fingernail. The artefacts, collected by the family over a number of years, have added to the beauty of the house. There is a Great Salon, a large ballroom

Ballroom

A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

 with the floor made of Italian marble, antique chandeliers from Europe adorning the ceiling, and heavily carved, ornate rosewood furniture. What stands out among the furniture is a pair of high-backed chairs, bearing the family crest, which was given to the Pereira Bragança family by King Dom Luís of Portugal. Most of the furniture dates back to the 18th century and is made from local seeso (martel wood), lacquered or inlaid with mother of pearl by craftsmen from Curtorim

Curtorim

Curtorim is a town in the Salcette taluka of South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is located on the west coast of India.-Geography:Curtorim is located at . It has an average elevation of 38 metres .-History:...

 bvillage. For antique aficionados, the house holds many delightful finds.

The west wing of the house belongs to the Menezes Bragança family. Apart from its exquisite furniture and Chinese porcelain from Macau, it also houses a collection of family portraits, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The library is believed to be the first private library in Goa. It has almost 5,000 leather bound books collected by Luís de Menezes Bragança

Luís de Menezes Bragança

Luís de Menezes Bragança , alternatively spelled as Luís de Menezes Braganza, was a prominent Indo-Portuguese journalist, writer, politician and anti-colonial activist from Goa. He was one of the few Goan aristocrats who actively opposed the Portuguese occupation of Goa...

(1878-1938), a reputed journalist, renowned for the part he played in Goa’s independence movement.